I recently came across an interesting blog challenge that a fellow writer is doing and I thought I would give it a shot. I wanted to do something that would give a behind the scenes look and share the personal side of Freelance Writers Academy and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
The idea of the 30 day challenge is about creating freedom and adventure in all areas of your life. It is based upon Natalie Sisson’s blog and book The Suitcase Entrepreneur. Writers are challenged each of the 30 days with a prompt by email encouraging us to dig deeper into the concept of being a traveling entrepreneur and helping us to develop the habit of writing consistently.
TODAY’s challenge: Write a post on why you started your blog, who you wanted to reach, what you wanted it to be all about. Then state why you joined this blog challenge and what you want to get out of it.
I started this blog because I finally decided start living a dream I buried for most of my life. Late last year, I began to realize I wasn’t going to be able to keep going in my current field for much longer. The wear and tear of taking care of the physical and emotional needs of elderly and developmentally disabled clients was taking too much of a toll on my physical body and my own mental health. I started contemplating other ways of making a living. That’s when a dream I abandoned long ago rose to the surface.
Flashback
I fell in love with reading at a very early age. When I was a toddler, my dad would spread out the Sunday newspaper on the living room floor and I would point out words and ask him what they were. As I grew older, I would wander around the house with my bulky tape recorder and pretend to be a journalist, reporting on all the household news and events. I devoured all sorts of books, enamored in the thoughts of others and wanting to learn more about the world around me.
I created crossword puzzles and other fun stuff for the middle school newspaper. I wrote poetry as a teen and dreamed of being a best-selling author. My best friend and I even created our own newspaper just for fun. I loved the creative process and how others thought and came to the conclusions they had. But after high school, that dream began its slow death. I fell into what I thought was love, became engaged, and found myself pregnant. My partner at the time was none too happy to hear the news and walked away from the relationship entirely.
I was not only starting my own life, but bringing in another at the same time. I scrambled over the next few years trying to survive each day and make enough money to support me and my newborn daughter. I met someone new and moved out of state to be with him. We had a child together and I started a career taking care of others in the health care field. Life carried on with the usual bumps and bruises over the next seven years. Then dreams started to turn into nightmares. The relationship went sour pretty fast and I lost everything as a result. Ugh! Time to rebuild all over again.
After 3 more years of rebuilding, I enter into long-term relationship number 3. The trials are far from over. We become engaged and then soon after, my fiancé faces a long-term disability that almost killed him. It took him over 7 years to get to almost normal and still has to fight every day.It’s this relationship that started me to start dreaming again.
My husband has been as supportive as possible, even when things look bleak. We poured ourselves into any business venture we could get into. We share the same values and aspirations and I am extremely grateful for that. I don’t think I could have been as brave enough to do what I have been doing for the past few months if I didn’t have the support I get from him.
A New Birth
I started playing around with the idea of writing again late last year. I started wondering if it was even possible. Over 25 years had passed since I had last written anything on a creative level. Did I even have it in me anymore? I had to test it out.
I started listening to a show online called the Self-Publishing Podcast with Johnny Truant, David Wright, and Sean Platt. I scoured the Internet to try to catch up on all that has happened since I left the writing world. I looked for writing communities to become involved in and settled in with Scribophile. I studied and critiqued other writers and submitted a few works of my own. I received tons of positive feedback and brushed up a few skills that went rusty after so much time away.
I regained confidence in my writing almost immediately. It was now time to put it to the test and see if I could earn money doing what I loved. Poking around in the forums, I posted a question asking other writers how they earned money writing. I didn’t expect the answers I received. The vast majority scoffed and answered brutally that writing was not a profession where you could make a living. Writing was just something you did as creative expression; there was no money in creating works of art.
Dejected, I refused to give up. There has to be a way! About a week later, I received a message from a fellow writer on Scribophile telling me of an opportunity he knew. He shared the editor’s name and email address and encouraged me to contact her. I jumped at the chance and got the gig. The pay wasn’t much but it was at least a start. I wrote a few articles in my off-time from work and saw all of them published. I looked for other writing opportunities as well. I joined Elance and oDesk and bid for the jobs I felt confident that I could do.
After a few minor gigs and being ripped off by a client on Elance, I quickly came to the conclusion that many freelancing jobs on content mills and freelance bidding sites just don't pay enough to even make it worth your time. I started to feel pretty hopeless about the whole thing but I was determined not to give up.
Phoenix Rising
I discovered the right way to pitch and find high quality clients that will pay you what you are worth. I joined forces with some of the most amazing minds in this industry and we created a place where writers could go and learn how to advance in their careers and earn what they truly deserve. And while this place called the Kingdom of Paidalot costs money to join, I didn’t want writers who couldn’t afford to pay to be left out in the cold. That’s why I offer tons of free information and resources here at Freelance Writers Academy.
I am writing this blog to not only record my adventures in the writing world but to help and inspire others as well who want to become writers or who are struggling to do so. I hope you will follow along with me. Let's walk together and see where the road leads.
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